After fiercely opposing and fighting the display of the Szekler flag in public spaces for years, it seems Lucian Goga has recently committed himself to eliminating it from private properties as well.

In the past few weeks prefect Lucian Goga has conducted a veritable campaign against the Szekler flag, and he has managed to impose his will, resulting in the flag being removed from town halls across Mureș county. But it seems he is determined to push the matter further, and has called upon local parishes and party headquarters to also take down the Szekler flag, both of which constitute private property, and thus the prefect has no legal jurisdiction over these. One of the parishes called upon by Lucian Goga to remove the Szekler flag is the Reformed church of Ghindari/Makfalva. Nevertheless, the pastor declared that he has no intention of doing so, as the flag is hoisted on the church’s private property.

Another case concerns the headquarters of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) in Sângeorgiu de Pădure/Erdőszentgyörgy, where the two flags (the Szekler and the Hungarian) have already been the subject of a lawsuit initiated by the prefect. In last november, however, the court ruled in favour of the defendant, dismissing the grounds of the prefect’s complaint. Goga had argued that case on the basis of a 2001 government decree, which however only refers to the state flags of foreign countries, and neither the Szekler flag, nor the Hungarian flag featuring the crest in the middle enter into that category. The prefect chose to ignore the existing verdict, and is expected to pursue legal course once again.

Several legal experts and lawyers have raised their voice against these measures taken by the prefect, arguing on the one hand that he has no legal jurisdiction over private property, and on the other that the prefect must obey final court decisions. Moreover, as formulated by Előd Kincses, a lawyer who was involved in several cases defending the rights of the Hungarian minority: “It would be nice, if the prefect learned something that even a first year law student knows: everything is allowed, which is not forbidden by law.”